In celebration of America250, the Orchestra of Southern Utah presents a concert of iconic American music on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 7:30 PM at the Heritage Theater in Cedar City.
The program opens with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” honoring the nation’s founding. The anthem grew out of Francis Scott Key’s 1814 poem written after the bombardment of Fort McHenry and was officially designated the national anthem in 1931.
Music Director Carylee Zwang conducts a program that traces American music from the Revolutionary era through the 20th-century rise of jazz. This season’s theme, America’s Playlist, explores a wide range of American musical traditions.
George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” epitomizes the fusion of classical and jazz styles that define American music. Pianist Christian Bohnenstengel, a faculty member with the Southern Utah University Music Department, performs the piano solo, with Trevor Davis, Director of Woodwinds, opening the work with its iconic clarinet solo. Bohnenstengel is a founding member of SUU’s faculty jazz combo Kind of Blue and is familiar to OSU audiences through his performances in “Handel’s Messiah.”
Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo Suite,” written in 1942 for choreographer Agnes DeMille, captures the spirit of the American West, from “Buckaroo Holiday” to the exuberant “Hoedown.” The John Mead Dance Company will perform live with the orchestra. Since relocating to Cedar City in 2023, John Mead and Mei Chian Lim have launched a professional dance company featuring local dancers.
The program also includes Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” conducted by assistant conductor David Jordan; Leroy Anderson’s “Blue Tango”; Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer”; and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,” performed with the vocal quartet SideNote. OSU will also present an orchestral arrangement of “Souvenir d’Amerique,” based on “Yankee Doodle,” by French composer Henry Vieuxtemps.
Tickets are available at myosu.org. Children over five are welcome with adult supervision. The Orchestra of Southern Utah is a community orchestra of professionals and dedicated amateurs bringing live orchestral music to the region.
For more information, contact Amy Gold, OSU Manager, at 435-233-8185.
